Alright, so yes, the comeback was somewhat impressive and it's not like it's the first time this has happened. All hail Tim Tebow. Now that I got that out of the way, can we please put down the kool-aid for a second?
Tim Tebow's numbers are quite misleading. He completed 21 of 40 pass attempts for 236 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception for a quarterback rating of 68.3. He also ran the ball 12 times for 49 yards and lost a fumble.
Why do I say his numbers are misleading? The guy was 3 for 17 heading into the midway point of the 4th quarter. With the Bears up 10-0, they began playing prevent defense, which allowed Tebow to complete short- to intermediate-passes, as the Bears sacrificed the yards and completions for time.
Also, the saying goes that sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. Late in the 4th quarter and up 10-7, Chicago Bears running back Marion Barber made a bonehead play and ran out of bounds to stop the clock. The Broncos were out of timeouts and if Barber had stayed in bounds, the Bears would likely have been able to run out the clock. Then in overtime, the Bears drove to within field goal range when Barber lost a fumble. Also, place kicker Matt Prater converted a 59-yard field goal to tie the game and send it to overtime and then a 51-yarder in overtime for the victory.
Again, while I praised Tebow's play last week against the Minnesota Vikings, it's the only time this season I've done so. He was back to pre-Vikings Tebow yesterday. Why in the world is he receiving the credit and not the defense? The Broncos defense allowed just 10 points, 12 first downs, 2-15 3rd down efficiency, 245 yards of total offense, 4.5 yards per pass attempt, etc.
Tim Tebow has started 8 games now. In 2 of the Broncos 8 games (25.0%), the offense has played well and the defense has not. Denver scored 38 and 35 points, respectively, against the Oakland Raiders and the Minnesota Vikings (granted, the special teams and defense were largely responsible for the high point total against the Raiders). Their defense allowed 45 and 32 points against Detroit and Minnesota. This wasn't the case in 6 of their 8 games (75.0%). In these games, the offense has scored the following: 18, 10, 17, 17, 16 and 13, while the defense has allowed: 15, 24, 10, 13, 13 and 10. So, in 6 of Tebow's 8 games as starter, the offense has scored a total of 91 points, an average of 15.2 per game, while the defense has allowed a combined 85 points or 14.2 per contest. On offense, the 15.2 points a game would rank the Broncos 27th in the NFL (32 teams), just ahead of Jacksonville, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Kansas City and St. Louis, who have a combined record of 15-50 (.231). Defensively, the 14.2 papg would rank them 2nd only to San Francisco, whom has allowed 14.0 points per game.
Near the bottom in offense? Near the top in defense? Most all the success must be because of the starting quarterback! It's logic!
The crazy (crazier) thing is that Denver could potentially keep on winning. The New England Patriots are their next opponent, whom have an atrocious defense. Don't be surprised to see the Minnesota Vikings-version of Tim Tebow in that game. They then have to play at Buffalo and home against Kansas City, both very winnable games.
Let's get the facts straight here. Tim Tebow has been a nice story so far this season. He has played extremely well in the 4th quarter, but there are four quarters in a game. Overall, the defense has been mostly responsible for the Denver Broncos' winning ways of late. It's pretty easy for a team to go 7-1 over a stretch when their defense has allowed 15 or fewer points in 5 of those games and 24 or fewer in 6. The offense only has to rise to the challenge in one of two games (two of three if you count the before-mentioned 24). Tebow's the name. Tebow's the face. But, let's get serious...Tebow is not THE reason for the Denver Broncos winning all of these games. Would Aaron Rodgers and the explosive Green Bay Packers offense be lauded like Tebow if they only scored 17 or fewer points on a regular basis but won? I don't think so. How much longer can Tebow continue with this? Who knows, but unless the guy makes some significant changes and improvements with his throwing mechanics, he will not be a long-term success at the quarterback position in the NFL.
Tim Tebow's numbers are quite misleading. He completed 21 of 40 pass attempts for 236 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception for a quarterback rating of 68.3. He also ran the ball 12 times for 49 yards and lost a fumble.
Why do I say his numbers are misleading? The guy was 3 for 17 heading into the midway point of the 4th quarter. With the Bears up 10-0, they began playing prevent defense, which allowed Tebow to complete short- to intermediate-passes, as the Bears sacrificed the yards and completions for time.
Also, the saying goes that sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. Late in the 4th quarter and up 10-7, Chicago Bears running back Marion Barber made a bonehead play and ran out of bounds to stop the clock. The Broncos were out of timeouts and if Barber had stayed in bounds, the Bears would likely have been able to run out the clock. Then in overtime, the Bears drove to within field goal range when Barber lost a fumble. Also, place kicker Matt Prater converted a 59-yard field goal to tie the game and send it to overtime and then a 51-yarder in overtime for the victory.
Again, while I praised Tebow's play last week against the Minnesota Vikings, it's the only time this season I've done so. He was back to pre-Vikings Tebow yesterday. Why in the world is he receiving the credit and not the defense? The Broncos defense allowed just 10 points, 12 first downs, 2-15 3rd down efficiency, 245 yards of total offense, 4.5 yards per pass attempt, etc.
Tim Tebow has started 8 games now. In 2 of the Broncos 8 games (25.0%), the offense has played well and the defense has not. Denver scored 38 and 35 points, respectively, against the Oakland Raiders and the Minnesota Vikings (granted, the special teams and defense were largely responsible for the high point total against the Raiders). Their defense allowed 45 and 32 points against Detroit and Minnesota. This wasn't the case in 6 of their 8 games (75.0%). In these games, the offense has scored the following: 18, 10, 17, 17, 16 and 13, while the defense has allowed: 15, 24, 10, 13, 13 and 10. So, in 6 of Tebow's 8 games as starter, the offense has scored a total of 91 points, an average of 15.2 per game, while the defense has allowed a combined 85 points or 14.2 per contest. On offense, the 15.2 points a game would rank the Broncos 27th in the NFL (32 teams), just ahead of Jacksonville, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Kansas City and St. Louis, who have a combined record of 15-50 (.231). Defensively, the 14.2 papg would rank them 2nd only to San Francisco, whom has allowed 14.0 points per game.
Near the bottom in offense? Near the top in defense? Most all the success must be because of the starting quarterback! It's logic!
The crazy (crazier) thing is that Denver could potentially keep on winning. The New England Patriots are their next opponent, whom have an atrocious defense. Don't be surprised to see the Minnesota Vikings-version of Tim Tebow in that game. They then have to play at Buffalo and home against Kansas City, both very winnable games.
Let's get the facts straight here. Tim Tebow has been a nice story so far this season. He has played extremely well in the 4th quarter, but there are four quarters in a game. Overall, the defense has been mostly responsible for the Denver Broncos' winning ways of late. It's pretty easy for a team to go 7-1 over a stretch when their defense has allowed 15 or fewer points in 5 of those games and 24 or fewer in 6. The offense only has to rise to the challenge in one of two games (two of three if you count the before-mentioned 24). Tebow's the name. Tebow's the face. But, let's get serious...Tebow is not THE reason for the Denver Broncos winning all of these games. Would Aaron Rodgers and the explosive Green Bay Packers offense be lauded like Tebow if they only scored 17 or fewer points on a regular basis but won? I don't think so. How much longer can Tebow continue with this? Who knows, but unless the guy makes some significant changes and improvements with his throwing mechanics, he will not be a long-term success at the quarterback position in the NFL.
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